MONOMANIA AND HOMICIDE.

472 Seven r.M.—This evening the patient seems worse ; he is the woman with whom he had lived for thirteen years, and weaker than he has been before. His face is covered with had intended to kill his three children by her, and afterwards a cold sweat; his countenance looks anxious, and his condition himself. is evidently less satisfactory. He vomited once during the Dr. Simpson, the first medical witness for the prosecution, afternoon, after taking some nourishment. Pulse 110, weak gave consistent and unshaken evidence to the effect that he and compressible; respiration, 48, very shallow. Twenty- had found distinct delusion in Bordier’s mind; he had read five minims of solution of morphia were given at midnight. the letters written by the prisoner before the murder, proOct. 4th.-Half-past nine A.M.: Has passed a better night, duced in Court, and they evinced the presence of monomania ; having slept several hours, and says he feels more comfortable. that the man’s general appearance and manner were those of a His face has a calmer aspect, but the sweating still continues. lunatic ; and the witness had no doubt that he was of unsound The expectorated matter is less bloody and tenacious, and the mind, and irresponsible for his actions. Dr. Simpson menquantity diminished. Breathes with less difficulty. Respira- tioned, incidentally, that, although in general practice, he had had considerable experience in cases of insanity. tion, 40; pulse 130, soft and small. Soon after ten A.M. the patient changed decidedly for the i Two other medical witnesses were called, one of them the of the gaol. The evidence of these gentlemen was worse, the pulse becoming weaker, sweating more profuse, and a cold clammy feeling of the hands and feet was present. simply negative; they had daily seen the prisoner since his It soon became evident that the poor fellow was sinking fast, committal, but had discerned no indication of insanity; they and his condition was at once reported to the surgeons of his had not examined him as to any alleged delusions, nor as to regiment at Windsor. Brandy was frequently administered, the causes or the circumstances of his crime. and hot bottles placed to his feet. The counsel for thee prisoner pleaded insanity for the defence, About one o’clock, Colonel Marshall, of the 2nd Life Guards, but called no witnesses, relying upon the evidence of Dr. arrived, and remained with McDonnell, who was quite con- Simpson, the insane nature of the documents in court, and the scious, till his death, which took place at a quarter to general history of the case. three P.M. Mr. Justice Montague Smith, in an able and impartial sumMr. Erichsen also visited the patient, but found him i2i ming up, bearing, if anything, to the side of mercy, left the articulo mortis. jury to determine whether the prisoner were insane or not, at Oct. 7th.-The post-mortem was made twenty-four hours thesame time directing them to find him guilty if they thought after death by Mr. Erichsen; several of the medical staff he knew at the time of the murder the nature and quality of attached to this hospital, as well as Drs. Kerin and Spry, of the act he had committed. the 2nd Life Guards, were also present. Thejury unanimously brought in a verdict of " Guilty,and The appearance of the body was greatly changed, the whole the judge then, with "evident emotion," pronounced the senof the subcutaneous cellular tissue having become emphyse- tence of death upon the prisoner, who heard it with " stolid matous after death, before which not a trace of emphysema indifference," and, deaf to the "wailings" of his two little could be found. girls, walked unconcernedly from the dock. On removing the sternum, the cavity of the right pleura I believe, and I speak not without considerable experience was found nearly full of a dark bloody fluid, evidently a mixof such diseases, that Bordier is a "monomaniac," and if he be ture of blood and serum, in which some masses of lymph were hung the cruel absurdity will be committed of inflicting capital Heating, as well as a few small clots of blood. This fluid was punishment upon a lunatic, and fixing upon his kindred the removed, and measured three pints. unjuststigma of relationship to a responsible and cold-blooded The surface of the pleura was seen covered by a soft spongy assassin. I am aware it will be said that insane homicides, by the layer of fibrin, and adhesions had formed in several places; one of these existed a little above the wound, where breathing English law, are responsible, and therefore Bordier is legally had been heard during life. condemned; but if so, why should the prosecution by the On tracing the track of the ball, it was found to have per- Crown be conducted as it was in this case, and has been in forated the anterior wall of the thorax, below the cartilage of other cases? Why should not the lunacy have been admitted? the fifth rib, close to the right border of the sternum, and, The prosecution proved by their own witness, Dr. Simpson, passing through the base of the right lung, had made its exit that the prisoner was insane; they brought forward no medical through- the fifth interspace, a little external to the angle of the evidence to controvert this opinion, except the negative testiscapula, the ribs having escaped injury. Both the anterior mony already described, and rested their case entirely upon the and posterior apertures were discovered with difficulty from fact that, insane or not, the prisoner might and did know that within, being almost occluded by the inflammatory products he was "doing wrong." I do not believe that twelve men could be found who would poured out. The track of the ball through the lung being opened, the adjacent pulmonary tissue presented the appear- ’, unanimously bring in a verdict of wilful murder against a man ance of a mass of coagulated blood, the surface of the wound actually, or even presumably, of diseased brain, unless they were bewildered by the legal doctrine that the prisoner’s knowbeing irregular and almost uniformly black. The base of the left lung was much congested ; very little ledge of the distinction between right and wrong is the sole fluid found in the pleura of this side. The pericardium was point to determine. There are few English juries who would opened, and about an ounce of dark-coloured fluid escaped, in fail to see that, in the case of an insane man, the conclusion as which were found floating a few masses of lymph; and some to whether in a particular act he knew right from wrong, is adhesion had taken place at the posterior part. oae that no jury can arrive at, and upon which no doctor, specialist or otherwise, should venture to give a decided opinion. Except upon legal grounds, no jury would find a madman guilty of wilful murder. Judges are not less merciful than juries. In the case of Hatfield the judge virtually stopped the trial upon clear evidence being given that the prisoner was suil’ering under delusion. Recently, in the case of Townley, the learned judge impressed upon the jury the importance of " Audi alteram partem." the question as to whether the prisoner acted under " delusion ;" and although the existence of any "delusion" was sworn MONOMANIA AND HOMICIDE. to by only one unsupported medical witness, who was, moreover, entirely mistaken, the judge caused further inquiry to ’1’0 the Editor of THE LANCET. be made, and the prisoner was respited for that purpose. The SIR,-It is officially announced that the sentence of deathcase of Bordier stands upon no imagined "delusion" or false of insanity. The disease of brain in Bordier is shown by upon Louis Bordier is to be carried into effect on Tuesday theory insane letters, by insane words, by insane intentions, and an the to debate whether next. There is but scanty time question insane act. Then, in his case, why should not inquiry be in his and other such cases strict law is justice; I would, how- made ? If, after due examination, he be pronounced sane, let ever, ask your powerful aid to bring under the notice of the him undergo his deserved punishment; if insane, send him to authorities the considerations that seem to me to render Bor- a criminal asylum; or, if the law inexorably demands his life, dier’s execution impossible, without further inquiry into his3let him be hung as a declared "madman." Such an execution might lead to a revision of that ruling of the twelve judges mental state. which makes the knowledge of right and wrong the test of Bordier was arraigned on the 27th of September last, forr responsibility; such a declaration will at least be common juswilful murder. It was proved that he had cut the throat ofE tice to the prisoner’s family. It may be some consolation to

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473 his bath-room ? On the ground floor there are lavatories, with hot and cold water laid on. It is quite true there is no scullery upstairs, neither is it required ; but there is a large and good one behind the kitchen, which, in my humble opinion, is its proper place. Your remarks upon the book-keeping are calculated to seriously injure me, and appear very inconsistent in the pages of THE LANCET. (Vide your comments in the same number of THE LANCET on the case of Mr. Bennett of St. Pancras, where you allude to these very books as the last ounce to break the camel’s back.) I have quite enough to do without having the office of a. clerk thrust upon me. The Medical Report Book, as it is called, is not written by me, neither is it at all right or necessary that it should be, which would entail the copying of nearly 300 names, ages, diseases, and diets weekly; but it is made up from materials which I furnish, and is initialed by me. I keep a book daily in which I enter the names, diseases, diets, medicines, orders for placing in the respective wards, symptoms and pathological remarks when worthy of being recorded, and other matters too numerous to mention. This book I carry round the house with me (I should require a porter to carry the so-called Report Book), making my entries, at the bedside in an abbreviated manner, intelligible to myself or assistant. From this diary the assistant-master takes the and I can at any time, if necessary, verify the diets &c., master’s accounts ; so that, in point of fact, the system as pursued at Ham is quite equal to the military or any other 1 am acquainted with, and the audit is not a farce. But allow me to say 1 do not for one moment admit that it should be any part of the duty of a medical officer to act as a counter-check on accounts. Before concluding, I must enter a protest against the manner in which your Commissioner conducted his inspection. I think it would have been but bare courtesy to have communicated with me at the time of his visit. I also think it anything but decorous for one medical man to visit, strip, and examine the COUNTRY WORKHOUSE INFIRMARIES: patients, taste and look at medicines, in the absence and without the permission of him who is in charge. I have had twenty WEST HAM. years’ experience of inspectors and commissioners of all kinds, To the Editor of THE LANCET. and certainly the conduct of your Commissioner does not inSIR,-As medical officer of the West Ham Workhouse, upon cline me to the belief that Poor-law medical officers will gain which your Commissioner made a Report last week, I claim much by the further introduction of inspectors and their adthe right of insertion for the few remarks following, in cor- juncts-which are, books without number to fill up, red tape rection of the statements made by him. I shall confine my- to distract, and crotchets to bewilder. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, self as much as possible to the facts mentioned. THOMAS J. VALLANCE, M.D., F.R.C.S. (Exam.) Firstly, as regards " the pitiable condition of twenty-one Stratford House, Essex, Oct. 7th, 1867. boys, under the care of an old pauper eighty years of age," instead of eighty read sixty nine-a difference of eleven years. I, may remark, too, that the old pauper is a very strong, hearty THE FIELD TESTIMONIAL. man; and before the ward "care" should be inserted " temwere as the a boys only short time under his charge, porary," until they could be drafted into the district schools. But now, ON Tuesday last, the Executive Committee of the Field schools being established at the workhouse, this blot no longer Testimonial met at the house of Dr. Langmore, in Sussex-garexists. dens, to close the subscription-list, and to present Mr. Field The lying-in room is stated to be 30 ft. long, 15 ft. wide, with the amount collected in aid of the liquidation of the and 9 ft. 6 in. in height; cubic space 4275 feet. The dimen- expense to which he has been put in defending (successfully) sion should be 28 x 18 x 9 f t. 6 in. ; giving, as cubic space, 4914 the unjust action which was brought against him. The feet-a difference of 639 feet. The maximum number of "fund," which amounts to more than £ 300, represents the ’ women allowed to sleep in this room is six instead of ten ; ’ sympathy of a very large number of the members of our prowhich would give to each a cubic space of 819ft.,which I con- fession, and private friends of Mr. Field. Mr. Aikin, in the sider quite sufficient. (I do not admit the canonical authority absence of Dr. Slbson, occupied the chair. A special resolution of the gentlemen who chose to say that 1200 cubic feet was was passed, conveying the best thanks of the Committee to necessary for each workhouse patient.) The windows of the Dr. Langmore, "for his liberality and unremitting kindness in This has its advantage, as it undertakin the management of the Field Fund, the success of room are 5 ft. from the floor. draughts upon the beds. It is certain no great evils which is mainly to be attributed to his exertions." This is a have resulted to parturient women in the West Ham Work- very just tribute to the large amount of trouble to which the house, as 577 women have been confined within its walls with- treasurer of the fund has been put in conducting the extensive out the occurrence of a single death. correspondence, in allowing the use of his house on many The first ward of the New Infirmary, described as being occasions for committee meetings, and in receiving the sub15 ft. wide, is 18 ft. wide. scriptions. The long wards, described as 15 ft. wide, are 17 ft. The chairman, in handing the "testimonial" to Mr. Field, The windows at the sides are 5 ft. from the floor, but the said he was the mouthpiece of the Committee, who were to be windows at the ends, four in number, are 3 ft from the Boor. regarded, moreover, as the representative of the profession Next, the waterclosets are exactly 25 ft. distant from the generally in the matter, and asked that their hearty congradoor of the ward, and on the upper floor there are four steps tulations might be also accepted by Mr. Field at the issue of to descend : as there are good commodes in the wards for all the trial, whilst he hoped that he would long live to enjoy the those who require to use them, I cannot agree with your Com- respect of his numerous friends. missioner that this is any defect. Those patients who are able Mr. Field, in reply, wished it to be known that he could to walk at all can certainly walk eight yards to a closet. Ad- not adequately express his gratitude to the profession for their joining the waterclosets are the baths ; and in these rooms, on sympathy and kindness towards him. Had it not been for the upper story only, it is true a patient sometimes washes. the kind way in which his case had been taken up by the proDid your Commissioner never hear of a gentleman washing in fession he must have broken down. At first he felt he could

them to think that there are some who, knowing the condemned to be insane, will acquit him of any moral guilt in the deed for which he suffers. It must be remembered that those who defend the justice and expediency of condemning and executing a lunatic murderer can by no means urge that English law certainly requires his death. It is true that the twelve judges in recent days have decided that à lunatic is responsible if he knows right from wrong ; but even they were not unanimous; and such was not always the ruling of Hale or Kenyon or Erskine. "The execution of a madman,says the great Coke, "would be And so late as 1S32, we find Baron a miserable spectacle." Gurney, in the case of a lunatic homicide, charging the jury , " that they were sworn to try whether the prisoner be insane by visitation of God, or whether of deceit or covin he counterfeits insanity." It is not much to ask that, in such a case as that of Bordier, scientific examination of his mental condition be instituted. If found insane, surely he will not be sent to die in his sin; time may restore his reason, give him opportunity for the earnest prayer, for the deep and real repentance of a healthy mind. The humanity of the old English law would not allow the capital punishment of a criminal who even became insane after condemnation; because " peradventlire, had he been of sound memory, he might allege something in stay of judgment or execution." Are we less humane in the present dav ? While morethau a doubt remains as to the sanity of Bordier ; can we send him to the scaffold ? The dispensation under which he suffers is more terrible than any that human vengeance can inflict upon him. If the present law of England now justifies the hanging of a lunatic, let such law be altered, as being contrary to the teaching of science, to the promptings of humanity, and to the dictates of common I am, Sir, your obedient fervant, sense. HARRINGTON TUKE. Albemarle-street, Oct. 9, 1867. HARRINGTON

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